got that old trigger finger again...

[BeenDown139]

no i didn't just buy another bass, but with me ya never know.
i'm a "traditional" fingerstyle player, almost exclusively using my first two right hand fingers to pick my notes - walking (sometimes runnning) across the strings.  in 2019 i was becoming increasingly unable to open my right hand from a closed position because those two fingers would lock up.  turns out this is a medical condition called "trigger finger".  got it fixed by a really good hand surgeon.  i guess i shouldn't have been surprised after 48 years of pretty aggressive bass playing that something in my hands wouldn't crap out eventually.  two full careers as a software engineer and commercial electrician probably didn't help.  since i only use those two fingers to play, i figured that would've been the end of it.  alas, 'twas not to be, homie.
a couple of months ago i noticed the 3rd (ring) right hand finger was starting to act up and now it's progressed to the point that i can't play bass without major hand pain.  i guess it kinda makes sense, i've watched videos of my playing and that finger shadows my middle (strong) finger's every move, even though it doesn't actually hit the strings.  having to unlock that stuck finger is not pleasant i'm here to tell ya.  i'm going in on monday to get it fixed, so i'll be sidelined on the bass for about a month.  it's gonna suck but i'll make it, i usually almost always do.  who knows, maybe some smokin' deal on a long scale series I fretless will pop up and that'll be my recovery present.  yay!

[lbpesq]

My wife was having a problem with trigger finger.  She used a CBD roll-on tincture. It worked for her.

Bill, tgo

[dela217]

I feel your pain!    I also suffer from trigger finger.   It is on both hands, and on the 2nd and 3rd finger.    Sometimes my left hand will lock so hard and tight I have to use the other hand to open in.    VERY painful.   

I have been getting the steroid shots in the knuckles.   My doctor says that it may go away after the 2nd or 3rd round of injections.    Let me tell you, those shots are rough!    They joog the needle in and kind of move it around as they are injecting.   Lovely.   I got my 3rd set of injections in June.    So far, my hands no longer lock up and are pain free.   That is what over 40 years of playing gigs 2 to 3 times a week will get you.

I am pre-approved for the surgery and if this round of shots does not knock it out, I too will be under the knife.   

[mavnet]

Good luck! I just had tendon surgery on my right hand by a surgeon who specializes in hand surgery for musicians. Two weeks later, I'm playing - for a brief amount of time and being very careful, but playing.
I'm sure you'll be playing soon and pain-free again!

[David Houck]

Hoping the best outcomes for everyone.

[edwardofhuncote]

The ills we're willing to endure for this music thing...


I'm actually looking forward to another surgery. That can't be right.

[BeenDown139]

My wife was having a problem with trigger finger.  She used a CBD roll-on tincture. It worked for her.

well im a big fan of self medication as you probably know by now.  i do a hot CBD with max THC content rubdown on my shoulders and knees which have taken a beating from climbing up and down and working on top of a ladder as is the commercial electrician's fate.  it works pretty well for a topical and i highly recommend it.  however, if drug screening is a hazard in your professional (or provate) life, i can guarantee you'll drop a hot UA as a result.  OTOH, it makes a convenient screen for your rampant daily pot use, should you find yourself living that lifestyle.  unfortunately, this has progressed past pain relief so surgery is the next step.  i've already been through this once so i pretty much know waht to expect.

I have been getting the steroid shots in the knuckles.   My doctor says that it may go away after the 2nd or 3rd round of injections.    Let me tell you, those shots are rough!

IMHO this sounds like some sort of midieval torture. i went straight from diagnosis to surgery the first time.  the surgery took about 20 minutes, it was a local anasthetic, i could've watched if  wanted to.  had to drive myself home with in my stick shft car last time.  which seems a whole lot less traumatic that having someone rooting around under the skin of my hands with a needle.  i'm just sayin'.

i did about a 5 song workout playing the mighty MK deluxe last night, woke up feeling it in my right hand but it wasn't crippling like it's been lately.  that probably is the easiest, most comfortable bass for my right hand as it has that balance K body and 5-lane-highway wide neck and string spacing.  lefty perfers the series II with the slightly narrower neck, but it ain't his rodeo this time around.  sorry homie!

[dela217]

I opted for the shots for now.    Being that I have gigs booked for the next 8 months or so,  I didn't want to take the time off.    So with the shot, I was able to play that night.    This is what my hand looked like after rooting around in there with a needle.


It is good to know that the surgery is that easy.   But how long after were you able to play successfully for a 3 hour gig?


Thanks,
Michael

[BeenDown139]

It is good to know that the surgery is that easy.   But how long after were you able to play successfully for a 3 hour gig?

permit me to bloviate for a minute to give you some context:
<bloviate mode start>
{
i started gigging in bars in the mid-70's and the rule back then was pack yer gear in, do 4 - 45 minute sets 9 - 01:30 pack yer ger out by 02:30 2 or 3 nights a week plus rehersal once a week not to mention wookshedding. for decades that's how i guaged my performing level and my playing stamina.  i retired from performing 4 years ago, up until that point i was still doing 2 3-hour gigs a week plus woodshedding in between.
when i had my first surgery, i was able to hold onto a pick well enough to keep my left hand limber, probably a hour a day.  i used to be better playing with a pick, but that's when i was a youngster.  it was kinda frustrating, but i did learn that my fretless sounds very retro when played with a pick, so it wasn't time wasted by any means. after i had my stitches out (i think it was 2 weeks) i was back at my normal level. before my finger started acting up about a month ago, i was practicing at a pretty intense level for about 2 hours a day.  i was still working full time and driving the delivery truck at the time IIRC.  bear in mind that now i'm getting a leg up on 67 and so i'm not the young stud that i used to be.  i'm not sure that i could do a 3-hour show anymore, trigger finger notwithstanding.  but i'm pretty sure given the chance i'd probably kill myself trying.  happily, i might add.
so this comes with a huge YMMV.  when ya go this route, ya probably oughta make sure yer calendar's clear for 2 weeks + some margin.  i tolerated it pretty well, you may not.
the other thing that makes this a relatively easy procedure is that they're removing nodules on the tendons. most of the recovery is waiting for the incisions to heal.
} <end bloviate mode>

good luck with your treatment, sir.  i'll post an update on this here and agin, maybe. probably.  i dunno

<edit>  i just re-read my own crap and noticed it's fulla typos.  this finger is really starting to affect my keyboarding.  couldn't have been that 37% THC (fully legal, i might add) post-breakfast-pick-me-up.  that's just crazy talk!

[cozmik_cowboy]

I was supposed to have carpal tunnel release on my left hand just before everything shut down.  Somewhere in the next year, my left middle finger started locking.  May '20 I was finally able to get to schedule the CTR, so I told the surgeon about the finger; "Oh, that's trigger finger, I can fix it at the same time."


"And what time would that be?"  "Day after tomorrow."  "Oh - OK."



This was not sans a bit of trepidation, as I recalled clearly the right-side CTR; opened up from mid-palm to wrist, 3-month recovery.  But it was 2 stiches in the wrist for the CT & one in the palm for the TF; I was playing in few days, and within a week had no residual effects.

Peter (who will stipulate that he only plays at home, so neither gigging nor playing time was an issue beyond the mental health aspects)

[StephenR]

Hey Tim... hope you can get your finger back in the proper groove ASAP!

[dannobasso]

Something to look at is Ozone therapy. My friend who is a bassist and drummer was diagnosed with a chronic untreatable arthritis in both hands. He also had a bulged disc and bad sciatica .. He had Ozone treatments via injection and infusion. He's been gigging on drums and he and I have been doing sound gigs for 6 months. Last Friday he played to 50,000 in Sacramento supporting KISS.https://aftershockfestival.com His recovery was amazing.
I have just had 3 O3 infusion treatment to improve health and address a few issues.

Just something to look into if it is available near you.

[BeenDown139]

had to have my sister at the airport at 0500 this morning, when i got home i gave the hands a good CBD rubdown, fired up the SII (it was sounding especially hairy this morning for some reason), got good and baked and tried to post a coupla videos as my last hurrah for a while.  just couldn't get a good take despite my best efforts so it was ultimately a futile effort.  reviewing the video was kind of a painful reminder of just how much my playing has deteriorated, especially in the last month.  now i can't let my right hand close without having lefty help get it back open.  so i'm definitely ready for this tomorrow.  i probably set myself up for a day of hand pain with this stunt.  but it's pretty hard to look at the wall of alembics that graces my living room as just an expensive hanging exotic wood collection.  gonna be tough to leave 'em alone for a while.
so it's a beautiful fall day here in the mile high.  my house makeover that started the day i retired in april that has gone on pretty much non-stop every day until yesterday when i ran outta paint is at a good stopping point.  gonna get on the bike when it warms up a little more, get good and baked (again) and enjoy the fall canopy at city park.  i won't be able to work the brakes on the bicycle again for a little while,  so this is also my last day riding for a while.  hopefully we have a better outcome than the music effort yielded.  guess we'll find out.

[pauldo]

Good luck.

[BeenDown139]

jsut got back from teh doctor's.  took longer to drive there than the surgery took.  including time to check in and get numbed up i think i might've been there 20 minutes.  the relief was immediate.  i can't believe how much this hand pain was putting me on edge.  my jaws have been clinched and my mood surly (oh wait.  i'm like that all the time dontcha know).  so - wait for the incisions to heal, see what happens next.